Number of homicide victims up 10% in a year

● Cases almost half in ten years ● 1 in 5 killings took place in Glasgow

The number of murder and culpable homicide victims in Scotland has risen by 10 per cent in a year.

Official figures show there were 64 homicide victim cases in 2016-17 compared to 58 the previous year.

Three of the cases were unsolved, as of 31 March 2017.

Justice secretary Michael Matheson said Police Scotland would continue attempts to “drive down violence” and said each death was a “tragic loss of life”.

But the Scottish Conservatives accused the SNP of being “soft on crime”.

While the number of victims rose more dramatically, the overall number of homicide cases increased by five per cent year on year from 58 to 61, the joint second lowest total annually since 1976.

The number of cases has almost halved in the 10 years from 2007-8 to 2016-17 dropping 47 per cent from 115 to 61.

Mr Matheson said: “While we have seen large reductions in homicides over the past ten years, every death represents a tragic loss of life, leaving friends and families grieving.

“That is why we will maintain our efforts across justice and public services, through education and enforcement, to continue driving down violence in our communities. We continue to ensure our law enforcement agencies and courts have the resources to deal with those who harm others, while supporting prevention work with young people and projects that help people break free from cycles of violence.”

One in five of the killings in 2016-17 took place in Glasgow, nearly double its share of the population.

Homicides in Glasgow have fallen 60 per cent in the past ten years with the city accounting for one third of the overall national drop.

Across Scotland, 77 people were accused of homicide in 2016-17, 22 (29 per cent) of whom were reported to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The most common method of killing was stabbing using a sharp instrument, the main method of killing for 30 victims (47 per cent) in 2016-17.

Twenty-one people were reported to have been killed over drugs in 2016-17 while two people died in racial killings.

Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said: “Whichever way the SNP wants to spin it, there has been an increase over the past year in homicides in Scotland.

“Instead of messing around with the statistics, Michael Matheson should be outlining to victims’ families what he intends to do to stop this increase.

“This rise in killings comes at a time when the SNP has never been softer on crime.”